TEACHING IRISH ARTS: UNIVERSITY WORKSHOP DRAWS STUDENTS FROM ACROSS NATION

Michael Flatley, the lord of "Riverdance," kicked up his heels in Helen Gannon's basement before his extravaganza of Irish dance and music became a phenomenon. "Riverdance" and Flatley's follow-up show, "Lord of the Dance," have brought the Irish arts to worldwide attention, says Gannon, who runs an organization called St. Louis Irish Arts.

"We're riding the crest of a wave right now," she said. "For years we struggled to get people to listen."

Gannon has brought the Irish arts to Cape Girardeau this week for a one-week workshop at Southeast Missouri State University's Parker Hall. About 30 students have enrolled.

Because teachers of traditional Irish instruments are rare, Cape Girardeau participants in the workshop have been joined by others from Cincinnati, Chicago, Detroit and St. Louis for classes in Irish dance, harp, fiddle, tin whistle and the Irish drum called a bodhran.

The students range from 5 years old to adult. Some have never played these instruments; some are advanced students.

Among the teachers are Tracy Fleming, a harpist who journeys from Ireland to work with the St. Louis Irish Arts School of Music and Dance, and George Kieffer, who is teaching flute, accordion and piano. Gannon teaches dance.

Her daughter, Eileen, also is teaching harp. A harp major at St. Louis University, Eileen Gannon last year finished second in the Irish harp competition held each August at Ballina, County Mayo.

"She is determined to bring the title to America," says her mother.

The festival of traditional Irish arts draws 150,000 people to the town of 10,000 and is the largest festival of its kind in the world.

Twenty of the St. Louis school's students have qualified to compete as representatives of the Midwest. Among them are two local students, Katie Greer, 13, and Sophie Gathman, 14. Greer is the daughter of Charles and Elizabeth Greer of Jackson. Gathman is the daughter of Allen Gathman and Robin Hankinson of Pocahontas.

St. Louis Irish Arts operates the St. Louis Irish Arts School of Music and Dance. It is affiliated with the worldwide organization, Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann (Culture Music of Ireland), which has some 400 affiliates. Some are in places you might not expect to be hotbeds of traditional Irish music -- Luxembourg, Libya and Japan.

If there's a downside to the interest in Irish dancing created by "Riverdance," Gannon says, it's the lack of musicians in the United States who can play traditional Irish music. The school never uses canned music for its performances.

Fleming and Eileen Gannon play a 34-stringed instrument that probably came to Ireland from Europe. The wooden harps are smaller than the classical variety and more affordable, costing about $2,000 apiece.

Fleming teaches Irish music as the oral tradition it is. "We speak it before we read the music," she said. "It's imprinted on their fingers and brains."

Most of the local participants in the workshop also take a classical harp class taught locally by Chadie Fruewald. Fruewald wanted her students to attend the Irish music workshop to broaden their abilities and sharpen their ears.

"If the children saw it written they would say, Oh, I can't play that," she said. "But it's easy to remember."

Friday performance

Students will demonstrate what they have learned in a performance at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the dance studio at Parker Hall. Admission is $5 or $3 for seniors and students.